Favorite Travel Quotes

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts."
-- Mark Twain
Innocents Abroad

"Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey." -- Fitzhugh Mullan

"A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving." -- Lao Tzu

Slot Canyons—Anza Borrego is a Park of Much Diversity

©Bert Gildart: Anza Borrego Desert Park provides wonderful examples of erosion but little is more dramatic than the park’s slot canyons.  Fortunately for us here at Peg Leg, trailheads are within a short drive.

My companions were Don and Nancy Dennison, and we share a love not only of traveling in Airstreams (they just purchased a new Classic), and like us, they also love hiking and exploring areas that require a bit of an effort.

GEOLOGICAL PUZZLES

Don and Nancy also enjoy trying to solve geological puzzles, particularly as it pertains to our interest of the day, specifically the slot canyons.  Don and I both believe we can I.D. rocks and we concluded that most was of a sedimentary nature.


SlotCanyon-3 SlotCanyon-2 SlotCanyon-1


L to R:  Traverlers Peak; slot canyon, trail to Quartzite Mine

 

Our contention is based on the immense layering of most of the visible rocks, But there also seems to be many granitic type rocks, meaning this land was not only exposed to vast inland seas, but also to violent upheavals below the earth’s crust.  That accounts for all the scattered rocks in the foreground of my image of Travelers Peak.

GRAIN BY GRAIN

The last chapter in our story is, of course, the one of erosion, and in this case erosion which occurred over a period of thousands of years.  Grain by grain, wind and water craved out some of the softer rock in the sedimentary layers to gouge  out  this incredible defile.

Though our day topped out at about 70 degrees, this is where I’d want to be on a hot summer day. From previous excursions here, we know temperatures in the recesses of these slot canyons  may be 10 to 15 degrees cooler.

Indeed, Anza Borrego is a park full of wonderful diversity, and this is just one example.


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THIS TIME THREE  YEARS AGO:

*Snowy Owls Are Ghosts of the North


ADDS FROM GOOGLE AND AMAZON AUGMENT OUR TRAVELS:





2 Responses to “Slot Canyons—Anza Borrego is a Park of Much Diversity”

  1. Bob Baran Says:

    Hey Bert
    Good to see you are back in Anza Borrego
    Will have to get together one of these weekends.

    Best
    Bob Baran

  2. Bert Says:

    Thanks, Bob!
    When I think of Anza Borrego I always remember a great hike. We’ll be here for several months.
    Bob